System and method for dynamically managing sound in a gaming environment

ABSTRACT

A gaming system is configured for dynamic and location-specific sound management in distributed gaming environments. A mobile gaming device executes a gaming application in undefined areas such as airports or restaurants. Various fixed gaming stations are disposed across gaming zones in defined gaming areas such as casino floors. A server communicates with the mobile device and gaming stations and samples ambient sounds with respect to each, and identifies desired sound signatures with respect to one or more of the gaming zones, such as ambient sounds for an associated gaming application, a jackpot or equivalent “hot spot” in the gaming environment, etc. The mobile device is directed to emit the ambient sounds associated with the identified desired sound signatures for the gaming zone in the defined area. The server may further direct sound emitters associated with the mobile device to locally suppress ambient sounds other than identified zone-specific exception sound signatures.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/408,024, filed Jan. 17, 2017, which was a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/175,910 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,569,923), filedJun. 7, 2016, which was a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/700,591 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,370,720), filed Apr. 30, 2015, whichwas further a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/834,342 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,055,375), filed Mar. 15, 2013.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialthat is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the reproduction of the patent document or the patentdisclosure, as it appears in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patentfile or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to sound management indistributed gaming environments.

More particularly, the present invention relates to a local network ofgaming systems that interact for the purpose of dynamic sound managementfor the benefit of users of individual gaming machines.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with various embodiments of a gaming system as disclosedherein, sound cancellation and/or amplification is incorporated into agaming device or surrounding devices in a current location to blocknoise from reaching the user's ears and/or produce or amplify desiredsounds.

In one aspect of a gaming system as described herein, 3D sound isprojected from the gaming device to the patron to maximize theirenjoyment of the game. This could be either produced as a sound wavereaching out from the device to the patron or pushed wirelessly toheadphones, for example, and projected to the patron on top of the noisecancellation wave(s).

In an embodiment, a gaming system is configured for dynamic andlocation-specific sound management in distributed gaming environments. Amobile gaming device executes a gaming application in undefined areassuch as airports or restaurants. Various fixed gaming stations aredisposed across gaming zones in defined gaming areas such as casinofloors. A server communicates with the mobile device and gaming stationsand samples ambient sounds with respect to each, and identifies desiredsound signatures with respect to one or more of the gaming zones, suchas ambient sounds for an associated gaming application, a jackpot orequivalent “hot spot” in the gaming environment, etc. The mobile deviceis directed to emit the ambient sounds associated with the identifieddesired sound signatures for the gaming zone in the defined area. Theserver may further direct sound emitters associated with the mobiledevice to locally suppress ambient sounds other than identifiedzone-specific exception sound signatures.

These aspects can address one of the biggest issues with soundcancellation, which is the determination of what is noise and what isvaluable data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram representing an exemplary embodiment of agaming system as disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram representing another exemplary embodiment of agaming system as disclosed herein, the system defining a plurality ofgaming zones.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart representing an exemplary embodiment of a methodof operation as disclosed herein.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart representing an exemplary method of operationaccording to another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram representing various exemplary identifiable soundsignatures with respect to a gaming device in an embodiment as disclosedherein.

FIG. 6 is a graphical diagram representing an exemplary noisesuppression waveform produced in accordance with an embodiment asdisclosed herein.

FIG. 7 is a graphical diagram representing an exemplary user interfacein accordance with an embodiment as disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring generally to FIGS. 1-7, various embodiments of a gaming systemand method according to the present invention may now be described.Where the various figures may describe embodiments sharing variouscommon elements and features with other embodiments, similar elementsand features are given the same reference numerals and redundantdescription thereof may be omitted below.

Throughout the specification and claims, the following terms take atleast the meanings explicitly associated herein, unless the contextdictates otherwise. The meanings identified below do not necessarilylimit the terms, but merely provide illustrative examples for the terms.The meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” may include plural references, andthe meaning of “in” may include “in” and “on.” The phrase “in oneembodiment,” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the sameembodiment, although it may.

Terms such as “providing,” “processing,” “supplying,” “determining,”“calculating” or the like may refer at least to an action of a computersystem, computer program, signal processor, logic or alternative analogor digital electronic device that may be transformative of signalsrepresented as physical quantities, whether automatically or manuallyinitiated.

Depending on the embodiment, certain acts, events, or functions of anyof the algorithms described herein can be performed in a differentsequence, can be added, merged, or left out all together (e.g., not alldescribed acts or events are necessary for the practice of thealgorithm). Moreover, in certain embodiments, acts or events can beperformed concurrently, e.g., through multi-threaded processing,interrupt processing, or multiple processors or processor cores or onother parallel architectures, rather than sequentially.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and algorithm stepsdescribed in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can beimplemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinationsof both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, and stepshave been described above generally in terms of their functionality.Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or softwaredepends upon the particular application and design constraints imposedon the overall system. The described functionality can be implemented invarying ways for each particular application, but such implementationdecisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from thescope of the disclosure.

The various illustrative logical blocks and modules described inconnection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented orperformed by a machine, such as a general purpose processor, a digitalsignal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmablelogic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. A general purpose processor can be a microprocessor,but in the alternative, the processor can be a controller,microcontroller, or state machine, combinations of the same, or thelike. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computingdevices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a pluralityof microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with aDSP core, or any other such configuration.

The steps of a method, process, or algorithm described in connectionwith the embodiments disclosed herein can be embodied directly inhardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in acombination of the two. A software module can reside in RAM memory,flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, harddisk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of non-transitorycomputer-readable medium known in the art. An exemplarycomputer-readable medium can be coupled to the processor such that theprocessor can read information from, and write information to, thememory/storage medium. In the alternative, the medium can be integral tothe processor. The processor and the medium can reside in an ASIC. TheASIC can reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, the processorand the medium can reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “might,”“may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, orotherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intendedto convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments donot include, certain features, elements and/or states. Thus, suchconditional language is not generally intended to imply that features,elements and/or states are in any way required for one or moreembodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logicfor deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether thesefeatures, elements and/or states are included or are to be performed inany particular embodiment.

Referring first to an embodiment as represented in FIG. 1, an exemplarygaming system 10 includes a central server 32 and a plurality of gamingstations 12 for one or more users. The server 32 and user stations 12may be coupled to each other via a communications network 30. The system10 may be provided for fixed gaming stations in a defined gaming areasuch as, for example, a casino floor, but may further be provided forany mobile or fixed gaming stations in undefined or lesser-definedareas, including but not limited to coffee shops, airports, or whereverelse the user may be connected to the server 32 and/or other userstations 12 via a communications network 30.

The term “communications network” 30 as used herein may typically referto a wired or wireless local area network (LAN), but may within thescope of the present invention incorporate wide area networks (WAN) orother telecommunications implemented communications networks andassociated media including for example the Internet for the purposes ofat least data transmission and reception. The communications network 30may include or otherwise interact with network devices, connectors, andother hardware and/or software components 22 associated with individualcomputing devices 12, 32 on either end of the network 30.

The user stations 12 may include a gaming terminal 14 having a userinterface 16, a processing unit 18, one or more computer-readable media20, and any components 22 as needed for appropriate interaction with thecommunications network 30. As referenced above, the user stations 12 maybe fixed in location with respect to for example a casino floor, but mayalternatively be mobile in nature such as for example where implementedvia a mobile computing device having appropriate structure toincorporate and implement components and features described herein.

Sound receiving devices 26 such as for example an array of microphonesand associated circuitry may be positioned with respect to each userstation 12 and functionally linked to the corresponding processing unit18.

Sound emitting devices 24 are further positioned with respect to eachuser station 12 and functionally linked to the corresponding processingunit 18. In various embodiments, the sound emitting devices 24 areconfigured for projecting sound waves as noise cancellation waves thatare further effective to cancel out certain sounds. Sound cancellationmay be incorporated into for example the headrest of a patron's seat orelevated rear speakers to block noise from reaching their ears.Three-dimensional (3D) sound may further be projected by the userstation 12 to the patron 28 to maximize their enjoyment of the game, andmay be produced via a device 24 inside the machine 14 as a sound wavereaching out to the patron 28 or pushed wirelessly to static speakers 24associated with the user station such as, for example, the seat/headrest/rear speakers 24 a, 24 b and projected to the patron 28 on top ofthe noise cancellation wave(s). Alternatively, for either static ormobile applications the sound wave may be provided via Bluetooth or anequivalent wireless communication technology to a wireless user headsetpaired with a gaming application.

An exemplary central server 32 as represented in FIG. 1 may include aprocessing unit 18, computer-readable media 20, and any components 22 asneeded for appropriate interaction with the communications network 30.The server 32 may further include or otherwise be functionally linked toone or more databases 34, data repositories or equivalent data storagemedia, wherein data associated with the various user stations, zonesand/or the various users themselves may be stored and subsequentlyretrieved. User profiles may be maintained wherein user preferences arestored in the server 32 and applicable by the system in accordance withvarious user stations, locations, times, etc., as further describedbelow. Exemplary databases 34 or other dedicated storage media withinthe scope of the invention may include without limitation transactionaldatabases or data files wherein raw data may be stored, informationaldatabases (e.g., data warehouses) for aggregation and analysis of rawdata by downstream analytics or business intelligence program engines,some combination thereof as may be understood by those of skill in theart, and any associated program engines as needed to extract, transformand load raw data into an informational or business intelligence-relatedformat.

Referring next to FIG. 2, a system 10 substantially as described abovewith respect to FIG. 1 may in various embodiments of the presentinvention further be expanded in scope to define a plurality of zones36, each zone including one or more user stations 12. In an exemplaryembodiment, the zones may define portions of a single gaming area suchas a casino floor. In other embodiments, the zones may eachindependently represent alternative locations such as for example cafes,train stations, airports, or any other place where mobile gamingapplications may be executed by a user, and some or all of which mayfurther have default profiles containing ambient sounds associated withthe respective location or type of location. For example, as a defaultmeasure it may be assumed that an airport provides certain common soundsthat can be programmed for identification and suppression when a usergaming terminal is active therein, while for example a coffee shop maybe expected to have a somewhat different default profile of commonambient sounds.

Each station 12 is still coupled to the server 32 via the communicationsnetwork 30, and may otherwise be substantially identical inconfiguration with respect to the relatively more detailed descriptionabove. As represented in FIG. 2, the devices only communicate with thecentral server, but in certain embodiments, it may be desirable for eachstation 12 in a particular zone 36 to communicate with other stations 12in the same zone. In other embodiments, the stations 12 may allcommunicate with each other, but with a corresponding zone beingincluded as a parameter in a data string whereby each station 12 mayappropriately identify the source zone for each other station 12.

The server 32 may effectively serve as a “master” to thereby coordinatenoise cancellation, specific exceptions and the like among the variouszones and their associated user stations in accordance with features andsupporting program modules and algorithms as may be described furtherbelow. In certain embodiments, the various user stations 12 maythemselves have the ability to interact directly with each other togenerate and execute many of the same sound analysis and noisecancellation steps, unless for example overruled or otherwise disabledby commands from the central server.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an exemplary embodiment of a dynamic noisecancellation process may now be described as it may pertain to anindividual user station according to the present invention. The stepsrecited herein are intended as exemplary only, and not as limiting onthe scope of the present invention unless otherwise explicitly stated.The steps may further be performed in any order unless otherwiseexplicitly stated or as logically dictated.

When a gaming station starts up, it typically may first sample ambientsounds with respect to that particular station (S31). As describedabove, the sample is typically obtained via sound receiving devices suchas for example microphones, transducers or the like, and preferably anarray of such devices for greater accuracy. The array of devices may beconfigured and arranged such that the sampled ambient noise pertains notonly to the sounds projected by the particular gaming machine but alsoambient noise received from external areas. A local audio file may thenbe generated by the processing unit in the gaming station, whichincludes data that may therefore be representative of the ambient soundsand to some extent any local directional impact from external soundswith respect to the gaming station. In other words, when the local audiofile is analyzed in conjunction with audio files from adjacent gamingstations, a particular source of noise may be identified and accordinglycompensated for in subsequent steps. Further, each gaming station may beprogrammed to be sensitive to frequencies associated with human speechgenerally, wherein analysis of the various audio files may allow foridentification and either suppression or amplification of human speech.

In certain embodiments, the gaming station may be effective todistinguish between the signatures of various sources within the rangeof frequencies associated with human speech, wherein for examplespeakers substantially within a certain radius about the gaming stationmay be amplified and sounds from speakers outside of the station aresuppressed. In certain embodiments, the user may be enabled to selectand suppress individual signatures that may be directionally identifiedand therefore distinguished from other signatures in the combinedwaveform. For example, where a particular speaker produces sounds of aparticular frequency, the sounds may be positively identified viatriangulation and synthesis of a plurality of local audio files andautomatically suppressed by the gaming station as a default measure oras desired in accordance with user preferences.

Having generated a local audio file, the gaming station may nexttransmit the audio file to its neighboring devices and a central server(S32). In various embodiments, the generation and transmission ofrepresentative audio files as described above may be conductedperiodically, but alternatively it may be contemplated that ambientsounds may be sampled and transmitted upon request as needed. The servermay then store the audio file in association with the particular gamingstation for analysis and generation of a zone baseline audio file forthat same station.

In other embodiments the central server may be configured for example tocontinuously sample sounds with respect to each gaming station. Suchcontinuous feedback may facilitate more sophisticated control techniquessuch as for example compensation for very temporary noise sources insubstantially real-time, or on a longer-term basis such feedback maybetter allow for intelligent analysis by machine learning engines andalgorithms as may be implemented in various ways which are known in theart.

Having transmitted a local baseline audio file, the gaming station nextreceives audio files from either or both of the neighboring stations andthe central server (S33). In certain embodiments, the stationsthemselves may include program modules effective to analyze the localaudio files from neighboring stations and generate their own zonebaseline waveform that substantially identifies noise in the form ofsound signatures not associated with the sampled sounds for thatparticular station, without the assistance of a master audio file withwaveforms from the central server.

In embodiments as further described herein, however, the stations alsoreceive data from the central server. In one exemplary embodiment, theindividual stations generate their own audio waveforms for soundcancellation based on ambient sounds from the surrounding machines,while the central server provides commands that may, for example,include user-defined sound cancellation preferences or that may overridesound cancellation of particular signatures (exceptions) as may bedescribed further below. In another embodiment, the surrounding machinesmay only be made available for broadcasting of ambient audio files inthe event of server communication failures or some equivalent, whereinthe baseline audio file itself is typically generated by and receivedfrom the central server, as further described below (see FIG. 4 andsteps S41-46).

In various embodiments, the gaming station further includes a graphicaluser interface on a gaming terminal or other equivalent devices forenabling a user to select general sound preferences or location-basedprofiles (S34). The gaming station may generate a list of selectablesounds for suppression or amplification, each of the sounds pertainingto a specific identifiable and actionable sound signature, or a range ofsounds for example within a specific and actionable frequency. The usermay be enabled to select sounds emitted from the gaming machine itselfto be made louder, while simultaneously selecting sounds received fromsurrounding gaming machines to be suppressed. The user may further beenabled to select from any number of other sounds to be suppressed, aslong as those sounds can reasonably be isolated and acted upon by thenoise suppression functionality of the gaming station. Examples mayinclude fans, mechanical meters, air conditioning units, general humanconversation, or as implied above even specific individuals orconversations that may be closer, louder or otherwise separatelyidentifiable with respect to the collective ambient conversation level.Outside of the context of casino floors as the gaming area, otheridentifiable sounds may be apparent such as for example the arrival ordeparture of airplanes in an airport, the clattering of dishes andglasses in a coffee shop, etc.

One exemplary such user interface 70 may be as represented in FIG. 7,including a number of independent noise suppression and/or amplificationoptions 72 such as music 72 a, human speech 72 b and game-specificsounds (i.e., slot reels) 72 c. A setting for each option 72 may beselectable by manipulating for example a slider button 74 where theinterface is coupled to a pointing device such as a touch screen ormouse, or in alternative embodiments by providing a data entry box or anequivalent enabling the user to enter a number along an appropriatescale with respect to maximum and minimum noise cancellation settings.The interface 70 may further provide buttons enabling the user to save76 the current state of user preferences to the gaming station and/orserver, or to cancel 78 the current state of user preferences.

As but one alternative or additional feature, the gaming station mayenable users to select from predefined profiles that are presented basedon their current location, or perhaps via a sorting algorithm thatpresents profiles in order of most common usage, etc. The profiles maybe associated with default noise suppression settings for thatparticular location (e.g., profiles generally associated with casinos,coffee shops, airplanes, etc.), previously established user preferencesassociated with that particular location, or an application of universaldefault user preferences to default settings for that location. The usermay be enabled to selectably combine a universal personal preferenceprofile with characteristics specific to a given location and have noisesuppression settings generated automatically in accordance therewith.

The user may in various embodiments be presented with a defaultselection for that particular location and enabled by the gaming stationto confirm or modify one or more preferences at that time. The gamingstation may locally store the user selection data for extraction andimplementation by internal noise suppression program module. Preferably,in cases where the user has a loyally account that has been previouslyidentified by the gaming station in association with the current usersession, the gaming station may further upload the user selection datato the central server for remote storage in association with a digitaluser profile saved in the user account. Thereby, the server mayautomatically retrieve the user preferences and implement or otherwiseidentify and visually present the same user preferences for userconfirmation at a later time when the same user begins a new session atthe same location. The server may further collect user preferences fromeach user with respect to a given user station, zone or location, andapply advanced machine learning algorithms to further adapt the defaultnoise suppression settings for the station, zone or location over time.

The gaming station may then generate an audio output in the form ofsound waves that are configured to suppress or cancel background noiseor other user-selected noise (S35) while simultaneously amplifying userstation-specific sounds. In various embodiments, the gaming station mayautomatically generate cancellation tones for any sounds that areclearly identifiable as external background noise with respect to thesounds projected from the machine, or other ambient sounds as they maybe provided by, for example, the user and are not selected specificallyfor noise suppression. Certain of these cancellation tones may in somecases be overridden by user selection, or alternatively may beautomatically applied and not even presented for user selection, such asfor example a persistent background noise. An exemplary noisecancellation waveform is represented in FIG. 6, primarily addressingbackground noise in the form of standard human voice frequencies betweenabout 80 Hz and about 3 kHz and of varying amplitude. Where sounds to besuppressed are too complex and/or numerous to be isolated, thecancellation tones may be generated based on an average or referencefrequency within the frequency band, and 180° out of phase with respectto the reference frequency.

In determining which sounds to isolate and amplify, the gaming stationmay compare the received zone baseline waveforms to the locallygenerated baseline waveforms and extract any user-specific or gamingstation-specific sound signatures identifiable as such (S36). Thesewaveform(s) may then be amplified in the final product in the form ofsound waves emitted from the gaming station and to the user, to betterproject only the desired sounds as opposed to any underlying noise(S37).

Referring now to FIG. 4, an additional and exemplary method may now bedescribed that is typically performed by the central server in parallelwith the method described above, particularly between steps S32 and S33.The server process begins upon receiving and storing local audio filesfrom gaming stations (S41). For the purposes of the description herein,the steps will be described as they pertain to a particular gamingstation, but the same method may typically be performed substantiallyidentically for each of the gaming stations at specific times, or may besequentially performed for each of the gaming stations over time, or maybe individually performed for gaming stations upon request, or startup,or at predetermined and periodic times.

The server may consider a number of parameters specific to the gamingstation or other external conditions in determining a zone baselineaudio waveform for that station. For example, the server may preferablytailor the baseline audio waveform in view of the date, time of day,and/or the location of the gaming machine relative the gaming area as awhole (S42). Ambient sounds on a casino floor may be reliably consideredto vary somewhat, if not dramatically, with respect to, e.g., a Fridaynight as opposed to a Wednesday morning, or on 8 p.m. on New Year's Eveas opposed to 2 p.m. in the middle of October. Further, a gaming machinethat is adjacent a primary entry/exit, and/or along primary walkwaysthrough the gaming floor, would reliably encounter more ambient soundthan a relatively isolated machine. The server may also analyze thewaveforms based on time to determine the delta between one hour and thenext. Implementation of the delta could lead to a gradual dampening ofthe outside noise as opposed to an abrupt change. For example, it may beknown in a particular instance that at 2:00 the fans in a location areenabled, and therefore prior to 2:00 the gaming machine startsintroducing a fan cancellation tone which may be fully effectual once2:00 is reached. The gaming machine may then further begin tapering therespective noise cancellation tone at 3:00 when it is known that the fanis or will imminently be stopping.

As described above, groups of gaming stations may collectively define“zones” that may be used by the server for this purpose as well (S43).For example, some zones may include gaming machines for which users aregenerally unlikely to converse with each other, but alternatively somezones may include machines that typically prompt some interaction amongpatrons and noise suppression might in these cases be more undesirable.

It may be desirable for the server to selectively allow announcementsrelating to a type of gaming machine to be provided for patrons only inthat specific zone, such as for example in tournament applications.

It may further be desirable for the server to exclude (or allow for theexclusion of) typical sounds as are emitted by other gaming machines,but to allow (or deny the exclusion of) sounds related to “jackpots” orother equivalent incidents that may lend themselves to an overall auraof excitement. More dynamically, the server may be configured toidentify “hot spots” on a gaming floor at any particular time and togenerate baseline audio waveforms that exclude sounds generated fromthese “hot spots” from noise suppression by surrounding gaming stations.In this way, gaming stations may further be contacted in substantiallyreal-time by the server with updates for application by their noisesuppression program module to account for exciting developments in thecasino at a given time. If the server analyzes the waveforms based ontime to determine the delta between one hour and the next, as describedabove, the common noise threshold may be determined for any given timewherein it is possible to ascertain that an increase in a certainfrequency was desirable and not the norm, and therefore should not becanceled.

Such analysis may be psychologically driven and may vary dramaticallybased on the gaming environment generally, the type of gaming machines,the clientele, etc., but generally stated this dynamic serverfunctionality may be developed over time to optimize patron trafficpatterns as well as an overall gaming environment.

It may even further be desirable to define zone-specific exceptions withrespect to sounds projected from gaming stations inside of the zone, butto generate the zone baseline waveform presenting sounds projected fromgaming stations outside of the zone for noise suppression. Again, thismay for example be desirable for tournament applications, or specificarrays of gaming machines playing a collective-style game such as pokereven outside of tournament applications.

Generally speaking, there may be certain exceptions that are defined bythe server that extend to all zones, such as for example emergencyannouncements and/or alarms related to the entire gaming area. Theserver may therefore exclude such sound signatures or otherwise generatecommands for inclusion in the audio file transmitted to the gamingmachines to ensure implementation and to further deny their selectionfor exclusion by their respective users.

The server may receive in addition to or as included within the localaudio file a user loyalty account number for a user of the gamingstation. The server may subsequently extract any stored and relevanthistorical user preferences from an associated user profile (S44), andgenerate a baseline audio waveform for that gaming machine including orotherwise accounting for these preferences, any zone-specificexceptions, environmental parameters, etc. (S45). The baseline audiowaveform and any associated commands or identifiers may then betransmitted to the respective gaming station for analysis andimplementation (S46).

Rather than accounting for user preferences within the baseline audiowaveform, the server may otherwise present the user preferences to thegaming machine for display to and confirmation by the patron, whereinthe gaming machine may separately apply noise suppression uponconfirmation of the relevant preferences.

Referring now to FIG. 5, various exemplary types of ambient sound 50 arepresented as may optimally be identifiable and actionable by noisesuppression and amplification program modules of a gaming station inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. It may beunderstood that among the more difficult tasks for effectiveimplementation of the present invention is proper identification anddifferentiation of noise (for suppression) with respect to desiredsounds (for amplification).

External sounds that are received by the sound receiving devices (e.g.,microphone array) may include static sounds (e.g., fans) 50 a anddynamic sounds 50 b, 50 b. Dynamic sounds may be broken down withrespect to external “baseline” sounds 50 b such as those that aresomewhat continuously generated by surrounding machines, and external“contextual” sounds 50 c such as those that are dependent on useractivity. In various embodiments, the system may enable users to selectsound signatures associated with each of these types 50 a, 50 b, 50 cfor noise suppression, or alternatively the system may automaticallysuppress a range of sound including 50 a and 50 b, while enabling theuser to select from among a list of individual sound signatures whichfall within the scope of 50 c.

Locally-generated sounds that are received by the sound receivingdevices may include local “baseline” sounds 50 d such as for examplethose that are somewhat continuously generated by the respectivemachine, and local user-specific or session-specific sounds 50 e such asfor example those that are generated by a particular user or only inconjunction with execution of a particular game being played by thatuser. In some embodiments, the system may automatically seek to amplifysounds 50 e while enabling users to potentially select and suppress oneor more sounds 50 d that are projected by the machine but notnecessarily specific to the game being played, such as for example wherethe gaming station is part of a zone of machines that collectively playa certain music regardless of specific user activity.

Additional sounds that are externally generated but separately treatedinclude selectable exceptions 50 f and non-selectable exceptions 50 g.Selectable exceptions may include for example announcements that may beidentified by an administrator as appropriate for one or more zones ofgaming stations but not for the remainder of a gaming area. Therefore,such sounds may appropriately be identified in accordance with sounds 50c for certain gaming stations, but otherwise identified in accordancewith sounds 50 g for others. The non-selectable exceptions 50 g arethose such as emergency announcements or alarms that are not selectablefor noise suppression, and must generally be projected, if not evenamplified, by each gaming station as needed.

The previous detailed description has been provided for the purposes ofillustration and description. Thus, although there have been describedparticular embodiments of a new and useful invention, it is not intendedthat such references be construed as limitations upon the scope of thisinvention except as set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for dynamically managing sound in adistributed gaming environment, the system comprising: a mobile gamingdevice comprising a gaming user interface, a sound receiver and one ormore sound emitters; at least one fixed gaming station located in adefined gaming area, wherein at least one sound receiver is disposed inthe defined gaming area; and a server in communication with each of themobile gaming device and the at least one sound receiver in the definedgaming area, wherein the server is configured in association with userexecution of a mobile gaming application via the mobile gaming device tosample ambient sounds with respect to the mobile gaming device and thedefined gaming area, identify one or more exception sound signaturesassociated with a current location of the mobile device, direct themobile device to disable local suppression of sounds associated with theone or more exception sound signatures, and direct the one or more soundemitters associated with the mobile gaming device to emit sound wavesassociated with the sampled ambient sounds with respect to the definedgaming area.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is furtherconfigured to direct the mobile gaming device to emit sound waveseffective to locally amplify sounds associated with the one or moreexception sound signatures.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the serveris further configured to: identify one or more sampled ambient sounds aspersistent external sounds or temporary external sounds with respect toa location of the mobile device, and automatically direct the one ormore sound emitters associated with the mobile gaming device to locallysuppress the persistent external sounds with respect to the location ofthe mobile device.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the persistentexternal sounds with respect to the location of the mobile device arecompared to respective ambient noise thresholds with respect to any oneor more of the date, time of day or the current location of the device.5. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is further configured toenable user input regarding a location-specific profile of exceptionsound signatures via the gaming user interface.
 6. The system of claim5, wherein the gaming user interface enables user selection from one ormore predefined profiles that are presented based on the currentlocation.
 7. The system of claim 5, wherein the server is configured tolocally suppress one or more ambient sounds based on a default profileassociated with the current location and one or more preferencesassociated with a user of the mobile gaming application.
 8. The systemof claim 7, wherein the gaming user interface presents a default profileassociated with the current location and further enables userconfirmation or modification of one or more associated user preferences.9. The system of claim 8, wherein the server is further configured toautomatically generate noise suppression settings based on the userpreferences and the location-specific ambient sounds.
 10. A system fordynamically managing sound in a distributed gaming environment, thesystem comprising: a mobile gaming device comprising a gaming userinterface, a sound receiver and one or more sound emitters; a pluralityof fixed gaming stations, wherein each of the gaming stations aredisposed in a respective one of a plurality of gaming zones in a definedgaming area; a server in communication with each of the plurality ofgaming stations and the mobile gaming device, wherein the server isconfigured in association with user execution of a mobile gamingapplication via the mobile gaming device to sample ambient sounds withrespect to each of the mobile gaming device and the plurality of gamingzones, identify desired sound signatures with respect to at least afirst of the plurality of gaming zones, and direct one or more of thesound emitters in the mobile gaming device to emit the sampled ambientsounds associated with at least the first of the plurality of gamingzones.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the server is configured toidentify zone-specific sound signatures with respect to a dynamic noisethreshold for one or more of the plurality of gaming zones in thedefined gaming area, and to direct the one or more of the sound emittersin the mobile gaming device to locally amplify sounds associated withthe identified zone-specific exception sound signatures.
 12. The systemof claim 11, wherein the identified zone-specific exception soundsignatures are associated with jackpots for one or more gaming stationswithin the defined gaming area.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein theserver is further configured to: identify one or more exception soundsignatures associated with a current location of the mobile device, anddirect the mobile device to emit sound waves effective to locallysuppress one or more ambient sounds other than the identifiedzone-specific exception sound signatures.
 14. The system of claim 10,wherein the server is further configured to enable user input regardinga location-specific profile of exception sound signatures via the gaminguser interface.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the gaming userinterface enables user selection from one or more predefined profilesthat are presented based on the current location.
 16. The system ofclaim 14, wherein the server is configured to locally suppress one ormore ambient sounds based on a default profile associated with thecurrent location and one or more preferences associated with a user ofthe mobile gaming application.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein thegaming user interface presents a default profile associated with thecurrent location and further enables user confirmation or modificationof one or more associated user preferences.
 18. The system of claim 17,wherein the server is further configured to automatically generate noisesuppression settings based on the user preferences and thelocation-specific ambient sounds.
 19. A method for dynamically managingsound in a distributed gaming environment comprising a mobile gamingdevice executing a mobile gaming application and a plurality of fixedgaming stations in a respective plurality of gaming zones in a definedgaming area, the method comprising: sampling ambient sounds with respectto each of the mobile gaming device and the plurality of gaming zones,identifying desired sound signatures with respect to at least a first ofthe plurality of gaming zones, and directing one or more sound emittersin the mobile gaming device to emit ambient sounds associated with theat least the first of the plurality of gaming zones.
 20. The method ofclaim 19, wherein the identified desired sound signatures are associatedwith jackpots for one or more gaming stations within the at least firstof the plurality of gaming zones.